SriLankan Airlines today apologized to customers following the prolonged delay on flight UL554 from Frankfurt to Colombo, due to “unavailability of a flight crew member” on Friday (19).

According to reports, the flight had been delayed by around 15 hours.

“Due to unavailability of a flight crew member, the aircraft was unable to leave Frankfurt as scheduled last afternoon.”

“The airline expects the flight to depart at 0400 UTC today once Frankfurt airport reopens after the scheduled night time closure,” a statement said.

SriLankan Airlines said that all passengers affected by the delay have been provided with meals and accommodation and that they will also be compensated as per EU regulations.

The national carrier of Sri Lanka is expected suspend its operations to Paris and Frankfurt, from winter 2016.

Accordingly, the last flights between Frankfurt and Colombo (UL 553/554) will be operated on October 30, while UL 563/564 of November 6, 2016 will conclude the operations between Paris and Colombo.

The Government of Sri Lanka has made it clear that it will no longer fund continuing losses.

Airline sources said that the route network is being continuously evaluated in the context of changing market dynamics in order to maximize on sustainable routes which bring in more contribution towards the bottom line.